SECTIONS 53100-53103 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 53100-53103

53100. For the purposes of implementing the federal Race to the Top
program established by the federal American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5):
(a) The Superintendent and the President of the state board may
enter into a memorandum of understanding with a local educational
agency.
(b) Participating local educational agencies shall enter into a
memorandum of understanding, with the Superintendent and the
President of the state board, that meets the requirements expressed
in the Race to the Top guidelines and that is signed by as many as
possible of each participating local educational agency's:
(1) Superintendent of schools, or their equivalents.
(2) President of the local governing boards, or their equivalents.
(3) Leader of any local collective bargaining unit for teachers,
if applicable.

53101. (a) The Governor, the Superintendent, and the state board
shall jointly develop a single high-quality plan or multiple plans,
in collaboration with participating local educational agencies, as
necessary, to submit as part of an application for federal Race to
the Top funds, authorized under the federal American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
(b) The Department of Finance, concurrent with the submission of
the plan to the Attorney General, shall provide the appropriate
policy and fiscal committees of both houses of the Legislature with a
copy of the state plan or plans, including any amendments.
(c) The plan submitted pursuant to subdivision (b) shall include a
budget or expenditure plan consistent with the requirements of the
Race to the Top program and application. At a minimum, the plan shall
address how the Race to the Top program funds and any other
applicable federal funds shall be used to provide resources to the
low-achieving and persistently lowest-achieving schools as defined in
this chapter. These resources may include, but are not necessarily
limited to, professional development, technical assistance, and
partnering with schools that have successfully transitioned from low-
to higher-performing status.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that funding for local
educational agencies be the highest priority in the allocation of
Race to the Top program funds.

53102. (a) On or before January 1, 2011, the Superintendent shall
contract for an independent evaluation of the implementation and
impact of the state plan submitted in application for a federal Race
to the Top Fund competitive grant award.
(b) On or before September 1, 2010, the Superintendent shall
convene a working group consisting of staff representing the policy
and fiscal committees of both houses of the Legislature, the
Legislative Analyst's Office, the Department of Finance, the
Governor, the state board, and the department to do all of the
following:
(1) Jointly develop the parameters of the evaluation.
(2) Make recommendations regarding development of any request for
proposals or request for applications used to solicit contract
proposals, and regarding the selection of the independent evaluator.
(c) The Superintendent shall provide to the Legislature, the
Governor, and the state board:
(1) An interim evaluation report on or before June 1, 2012.
(2) The final evaluation report on or before June 1, 2014.
(d) The department shall use federal funds made available from the
Race to the Top Fund and detailed in the expenditure plan required
pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 53101 for the purpose of
contracting for this evaluation.

53103. The Legislature finds and declares that this act is
declaratory of the requirements and definitions specified in the
federal guidelines for the federal Race to the Top Fund. It is the
intent of the Legislature that, to the extent that the federal
guidelines are revised, the state plan or plans also be revised
accordingly.